Still alive; Weiser, Jamestown get second win at state

Jamestown relied on small ball to end Dickinson’s season Friday afternoon.

Tied at one, Nick Fuchs scored on a Lucas Jones balk in the bottom of the seventh inning for the eventual game-winning run, as Post 14 triumphed 3-1 at Jack Brown Stadium.

The Class AA state Legion tournament win means 10th-seeded Post 14 made it into the final six.

“Losing close games this summer has helped us build character,” Jamestown coach Shane Schoeneberg said. “We’re starting to see it.”

Jamestown’s Landon Weiser and Dickinson’s Brett Schweitzer engaged in a pitcher’s duel, both giving up a run through six innings.

But Post 14 got to Schweitzer in the seventh, and he was pulled after four batters. Fuchs drew a one-out walk and eventually went to third on Scott Nelson’s infield single. Jones, in relief, balked right away, allowing Fuchs to score the winning run.

“We’re not much of a home-run squad,” Fuchs said. “All that small ball and getting extra bases and getting bunts down, that really helps.”

Weiser pitched seven strong for the win, scattering seven hits while walking and hitting one. He said his good outing came with 90-percent fastballs.

“My curveball wasn’t really working,” Weiser said. “I was kind of pitching to contact and my defense made the plays.”

Tyler Ukestad bent but didn’t break in the eighth inning and then, pitched a perfect ninth for the save. He also had a single in the eighth that scored Joey Gebhardt, providing Jamestown with some breathing room.

“Tyler not only doing it from the mound, but coming up in a big situation and getting a hit up the middle — we just competed hard,” Schoeneberg said. “I thought Landon and Tyler did a really good job on the mound.”

Mental errors hurt Dickinson, as it stranded 10 runners.

“We made some dumb baserunning errors,” Dickinson coach Cory Hansen said. “Just stuff we’ve been doing all year that I don’t know why we picked this game to do it.

“I feel bad for the seniors. They had good seasons. We’ve been through a lot this season. It’s just kind of a fitting end to how it went the second half of the season.”

Aarhus has been a sportswriter for the Jamestown Sun since May of 2012. Prior to that, he was the sports editor at the Minot Daily News and The Daily Republic in Mitchell, S.D. He also worked as a sports writer at The Dickinson Press. He was honored as North Dakota's Sportswriter of the Year for 2014.